Man charged with attempted murder in foiled robbery

Jerome Cunningham, 24, appeared in Summary Court on Thursday, facing five charges relating to an attempted robbery on Monday evening.

Among the charges, Cunningham is accused of attempting to cause the death of a security guard in the vicinity of Crown Square on Eastern Avenue.

A press release issued by police on Monday night referred to the incident as an attempted armed robbery of an armored vehicle. It stated that shots were fired and the security guard was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The second charge against Cunningham is that he attempted to steal a quantity of cash belonging to JN Money Transfer and, at the time of doing so and in order to do so, used force against the same man.

The defendant is further charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm – a Ruger P95DC and two rounds of 9mm ammunition.

The final charge is maliciously wounding the guard with intent to do him grievous bodily harm.

Cunningham was not represented by an attorney when he came before Magistrate Angelyn Hernandez on Thursday. She told him that because of the seriousness of the charges, she was obliged to appoint a legal counsel to speak with him on a one-time basis. Thereafter, he could apply for legal aid if he wished.

The magistrate asked attorney Jonathan Hughes to serve as duty counsel and speak with Cunningham. Mr. Hughes agreed and went to the cells with the defendant.

The magistrate asked if the matter could be mentioned again, and Mr. Hughes suggested Feb. 27.

Police stated in a press release that Cunningham was arrested on Tuesday.

Another press release from the RCIPS on Thursday indicated that a firearm had been recovered in connection with the investigation of this matter, as well as a quantity of ammunition. Police said this recovery occurred during a firearms operation on Tuesday.